Social media in New Zealand

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76% of New Zealanders who are online use Facebook, up 7% since 2011. Linkedin is the next most popular on 29%, although this is more than double what it was in 2011 (previously 12%). On the other hand, 90% of people who are on Linkedin are also on Facebook.

UMR’s monthly Online Omnibus survey also looked at Twitter:

19% of New Zealanders who are online use Twitter, up 7% on 2011.

97% of people who are on Twitter are also on Facebook.

Those who are on both Facebook and Twitter generally use Facebook more than they use Twitter. 71% of those who are on both use Facebook at least once a day, compared with 17% who use Twitter at least once a day. 64% of those who are on both use Twitter less than once a week, compared with only 12% using Facebook less than once a week.

Facebook users who are on Twitter use Facebook more often than Facebook users who are not on Twitter.

For New Zealanders, Twitter is clearly an addition to Facebook rather than a replacement for it. It caters to people who are already quite active in using social media.

The research also showed that:

The average New Zealand Facebook user has 146 ‘friends’, up 22 over the last year.

Although under 30 year olds have more ‘friends’ than any other age group (234 on average, up 21), the fastest growth has been amongst 30-44 year olds (162, up 42).

23% of New Zealanders have a Facebook ‘friend’ under the age of 13 (supposedly the minimum age to have a Facebook profile).

UMR Online Research Director Gavin White said “As was the case last year, if you’re talking about social media in New Zealand you’re mostly talking about Facebook. With almost two thirds of Twitter users using it less than once a week, we are clearly well behind the US in terms of the use of Twitter as a mass-communication tool.”